Liverpool: Get cultured during 2008

Liverpool overview

If there was ever a year to visit Liverpool, 2008 would have to be it. This year the Merseyside city has been named the official European Capital of Culture 2008. In the year after it celebrated its 800th birthday, the city is laying on no end of festivals, concerts and sporting events to promote what it has to offer to the rest of the world.

Of course, Liverpool has always been a city on the map. It gave the world its (arguably) best-loved band The Beatles, singer and TV show host Cilla Black and, of course, Brookside.


The city also has a rich maritime history and a variety of venues, such as the Liverpool One Arena, which are attracting top acts.

Destination guide the Lonely Planet puts it best when it says: "For far too long Liverpool has been dismissed as a city of smart-aleck scallies in shiny tracksuits.

"These days Liverpool is re-creating itself as a premier European city, riding on the back not only of its pop culture cred but of its glorious past as the mercantile hub of an empire."

Liverpool Location

International visitors to Liverpool may be pleased to know they can fly to the city from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Around 100 flights operate on a daily basis from this hub, which serves European destinations as well as those in the UK.

Liverpool is also serviced by good rail connections. Its main station Liverpool Lime Street is in the city centre and is just two-and-a-half hours from London. There is also a direct train service to Manchester Airport on an hourly basis.

Bus services are operated by the National Express from the city centre, for budgeting visitors. A trip on a NX bus to London takes five hours and runs 12 times a day, roughly.

Megabus also links Liverpool with London once a day.

The city is also looking to develop a park and ride scheme for those arriving by car.

Why Visit Liverpool?

Visitors to Liverpool have the chance to explore the city which is on the cusp of a major regeneration. This is an exciting time for the city and that vibrancy and sense of excitement is unmistakable.

The city has not one but two major cathedrals for culture-vultures to explore, plus the Tate Liverpool art gallery, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Walker Art Gallery.

Furthermore, visitors can visit the pubs where the Beatles played their first gigs and burn some cash in Liverpool's well-stocked retail areas.